A hand grip of the type specified hereinabove can be connected to a tubular shaft tool or be connectable thereto in releasable manner for the purposes of forming a tubular shaft instrument such as a surgical gripping or cutting instrument for example. The hand grip and the tubular shaft tool are coupled to one another by means of the coupling device, wherein the tubular shaft cooperates with at least one connecting element of the coupling device and wherein a plurality of connecting elements may also be provided. The force transmission element, which is usually a pulling and/or a pushing element in the form of a bar or a resilient core, is moveable back and forth within the tubular shaft. This enables relative movement of the tubular shaft and the force transmission element in the proximal-distal direction. This relative movement can be converted at the working end of the tubular shaft opposite the hand grip as required into a relative movement of jaw-parts for gripping body tissue or surgical instruments such as a needle, or into a movement of a surgical parting element for cutting through body tissue.
Herein, “proximal” and “distal” are to be understood as being with reference to the user who is manipulating the hand grip and the tubular shaft instrument. The user acts on the hand grip at the proximal end, and the tubular shaft tool extends away from the hand grip in the distal direction, wherein the working end of the tubular shaft tool is usually arranged at the distal end thereof.
For the purposes of acting on the force transmission element, the coupling device comprises the coupling element which, with the help of the gripping device, is moveable relative to the connecting element connected to the tubular shaft so that the relative movement of the force transmission element and the tubular shaft can also be obtained thereby. An effect can be produced on the coupling element by the gripping device which is transferred from the non-actuating into at least one actuating disposition so that the coupling element is thereby transferred from a non-actuating into at least one actuating position.
An object underlying the present invention is to provide a hand grip of the type specified hereinabove with which an effect upon a tubular shaft tool that is connected or connectable to the hand grip can be produced in a more user-friendly manner.